𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, DICK GRAYSON

─ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

The year was 2014 when I met Sebastian, Amelia, and Jordan. They were a trio of young misfits who filled my empty life with a purpose. They provided the distractions I desperately needed to forget about my old life by offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—to steal from the rich and comfortable bathe in absolute wealth. It worked for a while until tragedy struck and I sought out darkness as a coping mechanism.

Everyone was on high alert, running around like headless chickens as I waited for the last security guard to enter the billion-dollar mansion before I opened the window and jumped from the third floor, perfectly landing on the grass.

Staying low and parallel to the ground, I darted straight to the large oak tree and hid behind it. I peeked out to find a man dressed in a suit, belonging to the security detail. He was speaking frantically over the walkie-talkie as someone commanded that he go search the backyard's perimeter.

"Did you get it?" Sebastian asked me through the in-ear comms.

"What do you think?" I retorted in a low tone.

"Sweet," he happily sang, "see you in five?"

"You know it," I smirked, using the escape route we devised a week ago.

Tonight's heist was a priceless artwork, worth millions of dollars if fenced correctly in the black market as it was stolen from a museum in Paris, France about five decades ago. According to Sebastian, the tycoon we're stealing from spent a sizeable amount of money to obtain, which makes the whole mission totally worth it.

I sped down the highway on my black Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R, reaching to the warehouse in the five-minute timeframe. Parking inside the garage, I turned off the engine and removed the helmet. I then headed straight inside where the misfits are already celebrating another successful steal under our belts.

"You guys couldn't wait for me. I was only five minutes out," I said to them, placing the plastic telescopic art tube on the counter. Removing the cap, I carefully took and rolled out the artwork for them to see. "Voilà! Say hello to the reason for our millions."

"I can't believe this is worth millions," Amelia said as she was unimpressed when learning about the basic artwork painted by some artist normal people don't know about.

"Art collectors are the most gullible people in the world, especially the ones who brought this," I laughed, looking at the canvas cloth with only three colors on it.

Three colors in shape of rectangle blocks... and it's worth millions.

"I'll contact my fence in the morning. He has been waiting for this. Several clients are already lining up for it and are willing to pay twice the market's value," Sebastian explained, rolling the painting and returning it back into the plastic tube. He then walked over to his high-tech safe and placed the artwork inside, closing it behind and entering the passcode he only knows.

"Woo, we're rich!" Amelia exclaimed, excitedly dancing around the apartment. "I can finally get those Jimmy Choos and that Tiffany bracelet."

"You guys continue celebrating. I'm gonna go and get changed," I told them, walking to the guest bedroom. I removed all of the black clothing and put on comfortable ones. As I stuffed my thieving outfit into a duffle bag, someone knocked on the door then entered inside.